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Life Swap: What if You Left New York?

If You're Outsourcing Your HouseFew cities can compare with New York, realty-wise, but Shanghai comes close. Residents of the fast-evolving Chinese metropolis have seen stunning run-ups in property values—30 percent per year since 2002, according to BusinessWeek—and heard the steady drone of construction. (Sound familiar?) Perhaps predictably, Shanghai buyers have also been hearing the dreaded B-word, and now many in town are saying the bubble has popped. Nevertheless, you still get a bargain compared with Manhattan; for the price of a two-bedroom co-op here, buyers can speculate on real estate (and pretty much anything else) in a very nice six-bedroom condo.